Abstract
This paper is concerned with the presentation of a three years' project looking at mainstream teachers' attitudes towards inclusion in one Local Educational Authority in the Southwest of England. The study used both quantitative and qualitative techniques. The first phase of the project involved a survey which indicated that educating students with significant disabilities in mainstream classrooms results in positive changes in educators' attitudes. Here, the study confirmed previous research, which reported that teachers show positive commitment after they have gained mastery of the professional expertise needed to implement inclusive programmes. Further, the survey highlighted the importance and effectiveness of substantial self-reflective critical professional development, which results in the acquisition of generic teaching skills necessary for meeting the needs of all children, as opposed to short term technical responses to specific needs. The qualitative phase of the project involved in-depth case studies of two individual schools which looked at the whole issue of inclusion within a holistic approach. The results of the qualitative phase indicated that there are distinctions to be drawn between integration (seen as "participation") and inclusion ("participation" and "belonging") -this was highlighted by students' personal accounts of bullying within the schools which described themselves as 'inclusive'. The qualitative aspects of the study highlighted the outcome that "inclusive practice" is seen more in terms of integration than inclusion -students have their specific learning needs well met within the schools, but their personal needs are not well supported. The results indicate that in order to achieve inclusion, schools must look to restructuring to support personal as well as learning needs. Such restructuring is dependent on specific professional development (as indicated in the quantitative study) which supports the needs of learners within 'inclusive' (i.e. holistic) frameworks.
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